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From: "Rodney W. Grimes" <rgrimes@GndRsh.aac.dev.com>
Message-Id: <199611140523.VAA21132@GndRsh.aac.dev.com>
Subject: Re: 3C900 - 3C590 - 3C595 - SMC and PCI ethernet cards ???
In-Reply-To: <199611140145.RAA14939@saguaro.flyingfox.com> from Jim Shankland at "Nov 13, 96 05:45:14 pm"
To: jas@flyingfox.COM (Jim Shankland)
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 1996 21:23:05 -0800 (PST)
Cc: freebsd-questions@freefall.freebsd.org, mango@communique.net,
        hardware@freefall.freebsd.org
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> > What PCI Ethernet card is solid and has good support under FBSD?
> 
> The standard answer has been to use cards based on the DEC 21x40
> chips, especially the SMC cards.  I've used the SMC9332DST in 10
> Megabit mode under 2.1.0-RELEASE and 2.1.5-RELEASE in some
> pretty important applications, with no problems (other than an
> excessively high reported collision count).

The SMC9332DST would be a rock solid card, I have sold 100's of
them and only had 2 reported field problems, one tracked to bad
cabling, the other had something to do with trying to run it out
of the uplink port of a Cisco 7000 with a cross over cable, fixed
by putting a hub between them.
 
The reported collision count is (was) a driver bug.  

> I'm disturbed by the recent reports of problems with these
> cards.  I really need a stable, solid, PCI-based 10/100 Mbit
> Ethernet solution for FreeBSD.  Is there anyone who can shed
> some light on what's going on here (i.e., what seems to be the
> underlying cause of the various failures)?  I'd be happy to help
> in any way I can (test changes, donate a card, hack at the
> driver, whatever).

It appears that the driver needs some work to support the new style
PHY/MII interface that all of the manufactures of DC21140 cards are
changing to.  My SMC master distributor has informed me that the
9332DST is discontiued, being replaced with the SMC9332BDT.  I have
ordered some of his last stock on the DST, but that will be gone in
days :-(.

I have 4 different manufactures (soon 5, a SMC9332BDT is on it's way)
that use a new interface chip to the external world, a quick look at
my DFE-500TX revision C1 shows a DP83840VCE and DP83223V being used.

I know this has not been much help, but atleast it fills in some of
the details.

-- 
Rod Grimes                                      rgrimes@gndrsh.aac.dev.com
Accurate Automation, Inc.                   Reliable computers for FreeBSD